Cricut Leather Projects Using the Explore and Maker!

Get inspired to use different craft materials with these Cricut leather projects! Step by step on how to make a DIY leather journal plus other project ideas!

I have been having fun making some fun leather projects made with my Cricut.

I don’t know about you, but a lot of times I kind of get stuck in a rut using the same materials over and over since I’m comfortable using them.

But I really want to use my Cricut machine to it’s fullest potential, so I plunged into working with Cricut leather.

In my last tutorial, I talked all about cutting leather with a Cricut with both the Cricut Explore family and the Cricut Maker and made some bookmarks. You can use either machine to cut leather!

I wanted to try debossing on leather again so I decided to make a DIY leather journal with a powerful saying from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The debossing worked ok, but I really wanted to make the quote stand out so I ended up using the Draw function with pens. I’ll show you both ways below!

Plus I rounded up some other great Cricut leather projects from some of my Cricut blogger friends to give you even more inspiration to work with leather.

Materials Needed for DIY Leather Journal

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Cricut leather – I used Metallic leather
Cricut machine – either Explore or Maker
Deep cutting blade with housing
optional – Debossing tip if you have the Cricut Maker
optional – Cricut pens
cardstock
Strong grip mat and standard mat
ribbon, twine or heavy string

Making a Leather Journal with the Cricut

I found a leather journal project in Cricut Access that was similar to what I wanted to make but changed it up some. It was called “Ideas Notebook”. That’s what I love about the Customize function!

You can find this project in Cricut Design Space by clicking here.

I opened it up and made all the pieces larger and then changed the writing on the notebook. I detached the current text and then inserted a text box with the quote I wanted.

Since I planned on having the quote embossed in the leather I picked Deboss in the Linetype menu. Once I had the font I wanted and the size I wanted it, I selected both the text and journal cover and hit Attach.

I picked metallic leather from the setting menu and placed my leather, shiny side up, on a strong grip mat. Usually, you would cut leather with the shiny side down, but since I was debossing it I needed the correct side up.

Make sure the white rollers are pushed to the sides when cutting thick material. CDS prompted me to insert the debossing tip first. Make sure to watch the video at the top or side to see all of this in real time!

I ran it through one more time to try to get the debossing deeper and then I inserted the deep point blade when prompted to cut the edges. Here’s what the debossed leather looked like.

I did like it but I think because of my old eyes, I always want things to really stand out so I can see them! So I went back in and changed the Deboss to Draw after detaching the text. Once I changed it to draw, I reattached the text to the cover.

From this point on you can either use a Cricut Explore Air or Cricut Maker. If I didn’t try to emboss it with a Cricut Maker blade then I could have done both drawing and cutting leather with a Cricut Explore Air.

Then I loaded a pen in clamp B and inserted the mat again. Since I had to reload the mat, the writing is slightly off from the debossed text but I kind of liked the effect!

When it was done I unloaded the mat and then cut out the remaining journal pages of white cardstock on a regular grip mat. It took several mats to cut all the pages.

I removed the excess leather and then turned my mat over to peel the mat from the leather. Same with the cardstock pieces, I peeled them all off the mats.

Putting the DIY Leather Notebook Together

Once all the pieces are cut, it’s time to assemble the notebook. Let the ink dry on the leather so it doesn’t smear! You could also use a thin Sharpie to write too.

There is one large cardstock piece. That lays against the backside of the cover. Then all the pages go in between like a sandwich.

Line up all the holes. There is one on top and one on the bottom. Use ribbon, twine, thick thread, anything you want to hold the notebook together. Insert it through the bottom hole of the leather plus all of the pages, pull it around the back, and then stick it through the top hole.

The two ends will be on the front side. Don’t tighten it too much or you won’t be able to lay it flat when you open it. Then tie or make a bow on the front side and you’re done!

Again make sure to watch all of this in the video if it doesn’t make sense! Since I was using an embroidery thread, I looped it through twice. You’ll notice in the video I originally used a ribbon but then I changed my mind.